Rotary chair

ABSTRACT

A rotary chair has an upright support column provided with an internally arranged gas spring device controlled by a valve. A seat has a lower supporting shell and an upper shell connected with the lower shell and adapted to be provided with upholstery. In the interior space surrounded by the shell are located transmission linkages one of which operates the valves of the gas spring and the other of which effects tiltable displacement of a backrest unit mounted on the seat. Pushbuttons are accessible at the exterior lower side of the lower shell and are connected with the linkages so as to operate the same when depressed.

United States Patent 1191 Bocksch et al.

[ ROTARY CHAIR [75] Inventors: Karl Bocksch, Arolsen; Willi Hensel,

Willingen, both of Germany [73] Assignee: Mouser Kommandtgesellschaft,

' Cologne, Germany [22] Filed: Jan. 17, 1973 [2]] App]. No.: 323,594

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Jan. 18, 1972 Germany 2202107 [52] US. Cl. 297/347, 297/355 [51] Int. Cl. A47c 1/02 [58] Field of Search 297/306, 347, 349, 355,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 659,089 l0/l900 McKinney... ..249/409X June 18, 1974 3,111,343 11/1963 Pearson ..297/306 3,722,954 3/1973 Rey etal ..297/452 Primary Examiner-James C. Mitchell Attorney, Agent, or FirmMichael S. Striker [57] ABSTRACT A rotary chair has an upright support column provided with an internally arranged gas spring device controlled by a valve. A seat has a lower supporting shell and an upper shell connected with the lower shell and adapted to be provided with upholstery. In the interior space surrounded by the shell are located transmission linkages one of which operates the valves of the gas spring and the other of which effects tiltable displacement of a backrest unit mounted on the seat. Pushbuttons are accessible at the exterior lower side of the lower shell and are connected with the linkages so as to operate the same when depressed.

5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures ROTARY CHAIR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to a rotary chair, and more particularly to a spring-loaded rotary chair.

Rotary chairs are known, as are spring-loaded rotary chairs. They are usually used in offices and for other business purposes, but are not entirely unknown for domestic use. It is known to provide such rotary chairs with a base from which an upright support column extends, provided on its upper end with a conical seat which engages with a cooperating conical seat provided on a seat unit that can thus be readily removably connected with and disconnected from the'upright support column. The support column itself is telescopable for which purpose aso-called gas spring is arranged in its interior whereby to increase or decrease the height of the telescopable upright support column and thereby of the chair. It is also known to mount a backrest support on the seat unit so that its angle of inclination can be varied, for which purpose a second gas spring is provided which operates upon the backrest support. I

The advantageof this type of chair is that the spring support and the adjustability of the chair height can be effected by a single operating unit, and that all components can be constructed as a compact assembly unit having an activating rod for the valve of the respective gas spring which is connected with a pivotable journal mounted for instance in the interior of the telescopable upright support. By displacing the rod a lever arm extending into the interior of the upright telescopable support column depresses a valve pin of the gas spring, causing the valve in the piston of the gas spring to open and thereby to interrupt blocking of the piston. If the seat of the chair is not supporting the weight of a person at this time, this causes the inner tube of the telescopable upright support column to move upwardly; on the other hand if a load is resting on the seat, then the inner tube ,of the upright support column will move downwardly and the height of the column will decrease. When the rod is released the valve of the piston closes and further telescoping isterminated.

Unfortunately, this is a highly advantageous chair, but it does have certain disadvantages. In particular it has been found that the freely outwardly extending arm of the actuating rod is so exposed that it tends to either be bent or broken off in actual use. Also, it has been observed that this free end, which extends outwardly and is to be grasped by the hands of a user, is frequently displaced in the wrong direction (other than the direction in which it should be displaced in order to activate the gas spring) which causes it to become bent. This is understandable because it is not possible to determine from looking at this free end portion that it is to be displaced only upwardly in order to influence the valve of the gas spring. A second such rod, also having a free end and cooperating with the second gas spring which causes displacement of the angular inclination of the backrest, has similar difficulties.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is, accordingly, an object of the present invention to provide a chair of the type under discussion which avoids the aforementioned disadvantages.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a chair which is simple in its construction and reliable in its operation.

Another important object of the invention is to provide such a chair in which all components of the transmission linkages which activate the gas springs of the chair are invisible and are protected in the interior of the chair, being so arranged that they can be displaced in only one direction, namely the proper direction required for activating them.

In keeping with these objects, and with others which will become apparent hereafter, one feature of the invention resides, in a rotary chair having an upright support column provided with an internally arranged gas spring device controlled by valve means, a combination which comprises a seat including a lower supporting shell and an upper shell connected with the lower shell and adapted to be provided with upholstery. The shells define an internal space with one another. A backrest mounting unit is tiltably secured to the seat. Transmisoperative for acting upon the valve pins and the mounting units respectively, so as to operate the gas spring and effect tilting of the unit, respectively. Pushbuttons are provided, being accessible at the exterior of the lower shell and operatively connected with the aforementioned linkages for operating the same when depressed by the user.

The seat has mounted on it, as already pointed out, a bracket mounting unit, which in turn is composed of two shell sections which are provided with openings into which a carrier of the actual backrest can be inserted. Theyscan be drawn towards one another to clamp this carrier by providing an appropriate screw, and the unit is located eccentrically on a pin which is provided on the lower shell of the seat. A secondary gas spring has a piston rod which is connected to a mounting portion of the lower shell, and a cylinder which is articulated to the mounting unit below the centrally located screw which draws the shell sections thereof together. The reversal of the direction of movement of the pushbutton-operated rod of the linkage associated with the secondary gas. spring, in order to operate the valve pinof the gas spring, is effected via a pivotably mounted lever located in the interior of the seat.

'The novel features which are considered characteristic for the invention are set forth in detail in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its mode of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood upon perusal of the following description of preferred embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a partially sectioned side-elevational view of a seat of a chair according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a section taken on line A-B of FIG. 3, showing the seat of FIG. 1 in section;

FIG. 3 is a top-plan view of the seat of FIGS. 1 and 2 with the upper shell removed; and

FIG. 4 is a section taken on line C-D of FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Discussing the drawing in detail, it will be seen that FIGS. 1-4 illustrate one embodiment of the invention.

In FIG. I, the seat will be seen to have a lower supporting shell 1 having a projection 6 in which a conical journal or seat 24 is provided which is to be pushed onto the conical upper end portion 15 of a telescopable upright support of the chair (see FIG. 2). The lower end of the support column in conventional manner is provided with a base which holds the chair stable but which has not been illustrated. In the interior of the support column is located a gas spring which is known per se to those skilled in the art and therefore has not been illustrated; the valve pin 14 of the gas spring, which operates the valve in the piston of the gas spring, extends upwardly out of the upper end 15.

While the lower shell 1 is the supporting shell of the seat, the upper shell 2 is to be provided with the upholstery for the seat and is clampingly engaged with the lower shell 1 as illustrated. The shells are connected by the elements 26 which extend through the openings 27 in the shell 1. The underside of the upper shell 2 is supported on the radially extending reinforcing ribs 7 provided on the upper or inner side of the lower shell 1, so that a space is defined between the two shells. The upper side of the shell 2 carries the upholstery 3.

Located in the space between the shells 1 and 2 are pushbuttons 4 and 5 which extend downwardly below the underside of the shell 1 so as to be engageable by the fingers of a user. Also located in the space are transmission rods 8 and 9 of linkages which are to activate the pins 14 of the valve associated with the gas spring in the upright support column on the one hand, and the similar pins 12 of a gas spring 13 which is also located in the space between the two shells 1 and 2 and is to change the inclination of the backrest mounting unit 18 which is pivotably connected with the lower shell 1.

The pushbutton 4 displaces the rod 9, and in order to change the direction of movement imparted to the rod 9 and to act upon the valve pin 12 there is provided a pivotable lever 10 which is pivotably mounted in the support 11.

Also mounted in the support 11 is the piston rod of the gas spring 13 whose cylinder is articulately connected to a transverse bolt 17 of the mounting unit 18. The latter is of two shell sections 19 and 20, as the drawing shows, and provided with a screw 23 which draws the shell sections 19 and 20 together. Openings 21 are provided in the shell sections for insertion of a carrier (not shown) at the upper end of wh ch is to carry the actual backrest. Evidently, if the screw 23 is turned via the portion 22, the shell sections 19 and 20 will move slightly apart from one another so ti at the carrier can be raised or lowered whereupon the shell sections are drawn together again and clamp the carrier in position.

A bolt 16 or pin 16 is provided which eccentrically journals the mounting unit 18 on the lower shell 1. The gas spring 13 is articulated to the bolt 17 as pointed out before, and the latter is located beneath the screw 23. Thus, operation of the gas spring 13 via the pin 12 will cause a change in the angular inclination of the unit 13 and thereby of the backrest.

There are also provided expansion springs 25 which permanently tend to displace the rods 8 and 9 to their normal or rest position when the pushbuttons are not depressed.

Gas springs of the type mentioned herein are essentially constructed and operative in the manner of fluidactuated shock absorbers, from which they differ in that valve means provided in the piston permits the movement of the piston to be blocked and unblocked at will.

It will be seen that with the construction just described the object of the present invention has been attained, in that all components are located in the interior of the seat and well protected against damage, whereas the pushbuttons on the other hand permit displacement in only one direction and prevent damage to the rods or linkages due to improper operation.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find useful application in other types of constructions differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a rotary chair, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing from the spirit and concept of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific features of the invention and, therefore, all such modifications and ad aptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.

1. In a rotary chair having an upright support column provided with an internally arranged gas spring device which is controlled by valve means having a first actuating portion movable between a rest position and a valve opening position, a combination comprising a seat including a lower supporting shell and an upper shell connected with said lower shell and adapted to be provided with upholstery, said shells defining an internal space with one another; a backrest mounting unit tiltably secured to said seat and having a second actuating portion movable between one position in which said backrest unit can tilt, and another position in which said backrest unit is prevented from tilting; a pair of pushbuttons mounted on said lower shell and accessible at the exterior thereof for depressing by a user; first motion-transmitting means arranged in said space be tween said shells and operatively associated with said first actuating portion and with one of said pushbuttons for displacing the former to said valve operating position in response to depressing of said one pushbutton; and second motion-transmitting means also arranged in said space between said shells and operatively associated with the other of said pushbuttons and with said second actuating portion for displacing the latter to said one position when said other pushbutton is depressed.

2. A combination as defined in claim 1, said mounting unit including two shell sections, central screw means for drawing said shell sections together, and a pin mounted on said lower shell and eccentrically connected with said unit.

3. A combination as defined in claim 2, further comprising an additional gas spring having said second actuating portion and mounted on said lower shell and including a cylinder articulated to said unit in the region of said central screw means; and said second motionincluding a conically tapering seat for an upper end of said upright support column, said seat being bounded by an outer circumferential wall; and further comprising a plurality of reinforcing ribs radiating from said wall and having upper edges contacting a lower side of said upper shell.

5. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said shells are of synthetic plastic material.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION- Patent No. 3 7 7 Dated June 18, 1974 Ihventor(s) Karl Bocksch and Willi Hensel It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

In the heading of the patent:

MOUSER KOMMANDIT-GESELLSCHAFT is corrected to read MAUSER KOMMANDIT-GESELLSCHAFT Signed and sealed this 26th day of November 1974.

(SEAL) Attest:

McCOY M. GIBSON JR. c. MARSHALL DANN Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents F oRM PO-105O (10-69) USCOMM-DC 60376-P69 u.s. GOVERNMENT PRINYING OFFICE 1 930 

1. In a rotary chair having an upright support column provided with an internally arranged gas spring device which is controlled by valve means having a first actuating portion movable between a rest position and a valve opening position, a combination comprising a seat including a lower supporting shell and an upper shell connected with said lower shell and adapted to be provided with upholstery, said shells defining an internal space with one another; a backrest mounting unit tiltably secured to said seat and having a second actuating portion movable between one position in which said backrest unit can tilt, and another position in which said backrest unit is prevented from tilting; a pair of pushbuttons mounted on said lower shell and accessible at the exterior thereof for depressing by a user; first motiontransmitting means arranged in said space between said shells and operatively associated with said first actuating portion and with one of said pushbuttons for displacing the former to said valve operating position in response to depressing of said one pushbutton; and second motion-transmitting means also arranged in said space between said shells and operatively associated with the other of said pushbuttons and with said second actuating portion for displacing the latter to said one position when said other pushbutton is depressed.
 2. A combination as defined in claim 1, said mounting unit including two shell sections, central screw means for drawing said shell sections together, and a pin mounted on said lower shell and eccentrically connected with said unit.
 3. A combination as defined in claim 2, further comprising an additional gas spring having said second actuating portion and mounted on said lower shell and including a cylinder articulated to said unit in the region of said central screw means; and said second motion-transmitting means comprising a lever pivotably mounted on said lower shell and acting upon said second actuating portion, and a rod connected with said lever for pivoting the same and being connected with said other pushbutton.
 4. A combination as defined in claim 1, said lower shell having an upper side facing said upper shell and including a conically tapering seat for an upper end of said upright support column, said seat being bounded by an outer circumferential wall; and further comprising a plurality of reinforcing ribs radiating from said wall and having upper edges contacting a lower side of said upper shell.
 5. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said shells are of synthetic plastic material. 